Chromebooks, much like Windows PCs, span the spectrum from cheap and cheerful to powerhouses costing north of four digits. They’re great laptops, but the low amount of local storage tends to be an issue across the board – it’s not often you see a 1TB disk for a ChromeOS device. Whether you need to uninstall an app because you’re coming up against your ceiling or you just don’t need it around anymore, we’ve got you covered with some instructions.
How to delete and uninstall a web, Chrome, or Android app from your Chromebook
The most common type of app on a Chromebook tends to be a web app, Chrome app, or Android app. Simply put, all you have to do to uninstall any of these apps is:
- Open your Launcher by going to the bottom-left corner and select the circle (fisheye) button. You can also hit the circle (fisheye) or search key on your keyboard.
- Scroll to the app you want to uninstall.
- If your Launcher is a bit disorganized, you can sort your apps by right-clicking on an empty space and select Name or Color
- Right-clicking involves using two fingers to press or tap your trackpad or using a mouse.
- Right-click on the app you want to uninstall and select Uninstall.
- You may be warned through a pop-up that data associated with the app will also be deleted. Confirm by selecting Uninstall again.
How to delete and uninstall a Linux app from your Chromebook
If you’re dipping your toes into Linux apps, there’s good news: for certain apps, you’ll be able to follow the instructions above to get it uninstalled. Sometimes, an uninstall option won’t appear in the right-click menu or the system will generate an error and suggest that you uninstall the app through the terminal. Here’s what you need to do:
- From your Launcher, open the Terminal app.
- Enter the following command:
sudo apt-get remove nameofapp
- You may be prompted to confirm an operation associated with the uninstall process. Accept by entering “Y.”
How to delete and uninstall a Steam game from your Chromebook
Enjoying the Steam on ChromeOS beta? Good for you! You can opt to uninstall Steam by right-clicking on the app in the Launcher and selecting Uninstall. Otherwise, to uninstall an individual game:
- From your Launcher, open Steam.
- Select Library from the top row of tabs if you are not on your library already.
- Scroll your list of owned games on the left side and select your game to uninstall.
- Right-click on the list selection or select the cog button on the right side of the listing proper.
- Select Manage and then Uninstall.
- Follow the prompts from Steam.
How to track your storage space on ChromeOS
Looking for space? Maybe for an idea about how to manage your space? Get a look by following these steps:
- Open system settings by selecting the time to open the Quick Settings and then selecting the cog button at the top-right corner.
- On the left side, select Device and then Storage management.
You’ll see a breakdown of how much of your storage has been used. You can also open shortcuts to settings that will help you cut down your load:
- My files opens your system file manager. You can go through and delete files by right-clicking on them and selecting Delete.
- Browsing data links directly to a Chrome settings menu called Clear browsing data where you can delete your browsing history, stored trackers, and cached files.
- Apps and extensions brings you to a list of your apps and extensions. You can select any of them and press the Uninstall button.
- Linux storage reflects the partition size you’ve set for handling Linux apps. You’ll be linked to the Linux development environment settings where you can change your Linux disk size.